THE GREATEST SHOW ON ATLAS

Step right up, folks, and welcome to The Greatest Show on Atlas! This year, we transformed our backyard into a magical four-ring circus to celebrate Atlas turning the big FOUR. The day was packed with fun, laughter, and circus-inspired magic that left every guest grinning from ear to ear, even if it was painted on!

We went all out with the décor, embracing bold reds, yellows, and blues to capture the carnival spirit. A custom Big Top streamer display welcomed guests to the party, while a “4 Ring Circus” backdrop added a playful photo opp. No circus is complete without concessions, and we kept it simple but delicious. The concession stand was filled with animal crackers, cookies, and juice boxes, and the smell of fresh popped popcorn wafted through the air! A giant pizza from Manhattan Giant Pizza fed the whole crowd with room to spare! For dessert, we had a circus animal cracker cupcakes that Atlas helped decorate himself, perfectly rounding out the birthday feast.

Of course, the games took center stage! The ping pong goldfish game, a ducky pond, knockdown cans, hula hoop challenges, and a tattoo booth were just a few of the attractions where kids got a chance to win bags of goldfish (the snack, not the live kind!). The bouncy jumper was also a hit, providing endless fun for kids to burn off their sugar rush. Don’t forget to FOLLOW Atlas’ Big Top Bash Playlist on Spotify AND relive the day with us!

The real showstopper was Bubbles the Clown—a.k.a. Jose’s aunt—who brought a whole lineup of entertainment, including magic tricks, face painting, and balloon animals. The kids couldn’t get enough of her bubbly personality (pun intended) and colorful creations. Hearing Atlas laugh as he proudly said, “All my friends are here” was the highlight of the day!

As the day came to a close, guests went home with happy hearts and plenty of prizes from the games. Atlas had the time of his life running from one ring of fun to the next, and we loved seeing all the kids (and adults) fully embrace the circus spirit. To everyone who came out to celebrate our little ringmaster, thank you for making Atlas’ fourth birthday so special. It truly was The Greatest Show on Atlas!

Until next year—who knows what theme we’ll dream up next!

XoXo

Britt

P.S. Atlas LOVES his digital camera gift and as you can see he is already taking photos and will be making a blog post here soon sharing his snapshots!

HOME UPS- QUICK & CHEAP REDESIGNS IN QUARANTINE

Finally, Arizona issued a Stay at Home Order this week. Although, as essential personnel this means the same for us. Jose is now #Workfromhome, but once I return, after I de-clothe and shower we become home bodies. April 1 we celebrated our 3rd year as home owners and wanted to share a few Home Ups we did to protect our budget and our sanity as we Shelter in Place.

Living Room- The first piece of furniture we invested in our living room was a new couch. It took a while to find the right sectional for our space. We love comfy couch sessions and could see us doing that with a normal sofa. Luckily Living Spaces had the right size within our budget! Once that main piece was in we worked on accessories. Between Ikea and Walmart we found these gorgeous gold frames and had our favorite wedding photos printed in black and white to showcase in the entryway. I also was looking for a great full-length mirror that would not break the bank, to balance the other side of the TV and Way Fair had #JustWhatINeed. Lastly, I went around the house to the other rooms to re-purpose trinkets, books, knickknacks, candles and crystals that would fit the theme. I even used a rug from another room to warm the space’s concrete floors. This room proves that you don’t have to go out and buy all NEW items for a room makeover.

MASTER BATH – This was and is my favorite room in our house. So much pink and potential. It was originally added to the home in the 70’s for the owner’s wife, as it’s the only part of the house ADA approved. Three things we did here and for less than $100. First, the original wood vanity mirror we painted black. Second, we switched out the light fixture. Geeze, the things you realize are so expensive when you get older: rugs, lights, nuts, etc, blog post to come? We scored a great LED light on Amazon, I bought, Jose installed. Our latest VLOG will show you the BTS of that. LOL. Lastly, I got a frames at goodwill, painted black and printed free, fun bathroom sayings: I like your butt, and more! You can print your own from my Pinterest page here.

KITCHEN/PANTRY- Our kitchen is next on our home remodel. We recently had to make a major investment into our plumbing as we had the original cast iron pipes from the 1949 build collapse. As we continue to save back up for the kitchen cabinets, counters and hardware we made a few arrangements that make our house a home. The biggest and best change I made was turning our bar cart into a coffee cart! We don’t really drink alcohol, anymore, so this re-purpose was necessary. Instead of dragging out my Keurig to our limited counter space every morning, I rolled our bar cart into our pantry, added our carousel of k cups and ordered a quick Frida print on Amazon. Now my pantry is more than just a walk through, it’s a walk in.

The purpose of this blog is to show you during Q-tine you don’t have to be bored. You don’t have to spend money you don’t have. You don’t have to live in a space that doesn’t bring you joy or spark creativity. Take these tips into the weekend and let me know any room redecorating you’re doing.

We plan on filming a Cribs Vlog next weekend and I can’t wait to show you what we have done and what we plan to do with our forever home space. Stay safe and stay home.

XoXo Britt

GUEST ROOM REDESIGN ON A DIME

It only took us over a year to fix up the guest room, but we did it! First, it was storage, then WInter’s Dog Room, and now a proper guest room for our future stays! I cannot be more excited about the first guest staying in the room, but before that, I want to share all the details of this design on a dime guest room.

When we first moved in and painted every room in the house I immediately used this room to practice an ombre wall. Blending blues for hours and hours I was very impressed by my work of art and have even used it for several photo backdrops. We used the blank walls to hang my Monet prints collection. Other than that this room was easy to clean up to prep for a makeover. A little paint to touch up the base boards that our wonder full puppy chewed up and the room was ready for furniture.

We wanted to go with a futon for function and sticking with the midcentury trend keep the style of the furniture like the house. A futon allows us to maybe put a bed in later or adjust the use of the room altogether. We also wanted to put in a credenza. Not a dresser and not a tv console, but both, and our guests can put snacks in their too! These two pieces are bold in color and purpose but we are happy with the outcome and function.

Thriting and repurposing was where the rest of the details came from. My favorite orange rug from Ikea is a simple and inexpensive way to add color and change up a room. I love the shag to it! Great for bedrooms! Speaking of Ikea this clock shelf was in my office for the last 6 years, and I still love to this day, which is why Ikea still carries it! The statement chair was a set of two from Costco 6 years ago as well and Costco doesn’t even carry things from 6 months ago so good luck finding that! Finally I thrifted this Ikea blue table at a Goodwill 50% off day and scored it for $3.

I would like to think I am pretty good at “Staging a Bookcase.” All you really need are: Books (lol), candles, plants (real or fake), art, photos, crystals (something unique). Make sure to balance each shelf meaning if you did a book on the right, a few shelves down, add book on the left. Always share photos of great memories and change them out from time to time or different seasons or guests. And finally, put some crystals in there. Cleanse the energy and give your guests something to admire.

A few candles and throw pillows from target’s clearance section and we are ready to put some fresh linens in the cabinet and have our first guest enjoy her stay. We are book through July and Last week in August, but message me and we can see whats open for the other summer dates.

XoXo

Britt